Festival
ZirQus

Festival ZirQus – Festival for current Swiss circus creation
Sept 03 - 07, 2025

Over five days, the ZirQus festival brings together the diversity of contemporary circus in the circus quarter in the heart of Zurich. The broad program of shows and workshops offers circus to marvel at, try out and discover.
The bar, food, concerts and circus supporting program invite you to linger - come along, celebrate the diversity of artistic forms of expression, the shared experience and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at Güterbahnhof!

All shows and workshops are based on hat collection. There are no reservations, first come first served!

Guide prices
Workshops: CHF 25.- / 20.- / 15.- / 5.- (children)
Shows: CHF 35.- / 25.- / 15.-

You can find the entire festival program here: zirkusquartier.ch/zirqus

On Wednesday, Cie La Lune Bleue opens the festival with Jusque Là and makes childhood dreams come true with aerial acrobatics, dance, theater and live music in the open air. In the evening, Compagnie Trottvoir spreads out a large mattress bed for the audience for the premiere of FLÄZEN and questions the political dimension of doing nothing. The Wednesday program offers plenty to discover for families, children and anyone who wants to give space to their inner child.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Julian Vogel brings his very own circus to the stage with Ceramic Circus: endless drum rolls, a bicycle that defies all habit and a man on roller skates searching for balance. Following the spectacular show, an open training session will take place for the first time during the festival: Both amateurs and professionals are invited to end the evening with training and exchange.

After the joint festival dinner, the Late Night on Friday offers two newcomers the stage with the Artist in Focus format: Alma Gruber and Mano Vos. Afterwards, the play SHOOTING SNOW WHITE invites you to interpret old fairy tales in a modern way in a radical one-woman solo performance, thereby critically and wittily questioning current values.

The dense program on Saturday and Sunday offers a circus experience for the whole family with workshops, open-air spectacles and stage plays! In the open air, the Collectif TBTF in Pasterne tells an acrobatic dance fable without words, full of subtlety and gentleness. On the ZQ stage, the world-famous Compagnia Baccalà captivates the audience with Pss Pss, full of breathtaking acrobatics and poetic misadventures. On Saturday, Rich Man's Kitchen Orchestra plays a brilliant concert with extremely danceable music at our neighbors Galotti Musikwerkstatt. On Sunday, we will celebrate the end of the ZirQus 2025 festival together with the Circ-Exchange for professionals and indoor and outdoor shows. Come along and let yourself be carried away by circus fever!


Program 2025

CERAMIC CIRCUS
Julian Vogel, Cie. Unlisted
A spectacle unfolds to the beat of the drum roll. A bicycle that defies habit. A glitter hit on roller skates. Plates dancing on the finest rods. In the midst of this sensory overload, the calm of a spinning ceramic ball. The unnoticed becomes monumental, the fragile becomes strong. Pure, simple, clear and yet daring and luminous. With Ceramic Circus, Julian Vogel creates his own circus and makes the audience forget all expectations.
60 min | From 7 years | ZQ stage | Without language
Wed 03 / Thu 04

FLÄZEN
Compagnie Trottvoir
In FLÄZEN, the audience lies down on a large mattress bed in the middle of the city. In this space of peace, community and intimacy, an auditory and performative reflection on the political dimension of doing nothing takes place. FLÄZEN is a co-production of Zirkusquartier and celebrates its premiere at the ZirQus festival.
80 min | From 10 years | Outdoor area | Language: DE
Wed 03 / Fri 05

Jusque-Là
La Lune Bleue
Jusque-Là deals with the dreams of our childhood. What if we dared to be Powerpuff Girls, to follow our wildest passions and spread nothing but pure joy? Three circus artists give expression to their dreams through a mixture of floor and aerial acrobatics, dance, theater and live music.
40 min | For all ages | Outdoor area | Without language
Wed 03 / Sat 06

PSS PSS
Compagnia Baccalà
In Pss Pss, two contemporary clowns on an empty stage are inspired by the era of silent movies. Camilla Pessi and Simone Fassari captivate the audience with breathtaking acrobatics and poetic misadventures and leave the laughter reverberating long after the performance.
65 min | From 9 years | ZQ stage | Without language
Sat 06 / Sun 07

PASTERNE
Collectif TBTF
Pasterne is a conversation between two artists on the playground of the stage. Through their acrobatics, they illustrate the complexity of trust and communication and tell a fable without words, full of gentleness.
35 min | For all ages | Outdoor space | Without language
Sat 06 / Sun 07

SHOOTING SNOW WHITE
Anna Lisa Grebe
A physical theater performance and a f*cking modern fairytale: In this one-woman solo performance, Anna Lisa Grebe embodies the various characters of the fairy tale "Snow White" and also stereotypes, behaviors and clichés. Through exaggeration and the presentation of her own physical and mental nakedness on stage, she radically exposes the absurdity of a patriarchal system in which we still live. Always with a smile on her lips, she invites us on a journey into the glass coffins.
60 min | Ages 16+ | ZQ Stage | Language: EN
Fri 05.

UMGEKEHRT
Alma Gruber: Artist in Focus
Alma Gruber would love to turn the world upside down, but that's not possible. So she turns herself around. Like an almost empty soap bottle. Up is down, inside is outside - and as a soap bubble she flies free.
The Artist in Focus format offers a platform to circus artists at the beginning of their career.
20 min | Work-in-Progress | From 6 years | ZQ stage
Fri 05 / Sat 06

ELLIPSE N°1
Mano Vos: Artist in Focus
Mano Vos wears his Cyr Wheel - not the other way around. He seeks a balance between tension and release. Movement is at the center of his creation as he explores the fine line between control and surrender. The Artist in Focus format offers a platform to circus artists at the beginning of their career.
20 min | Work-in-Progress | From 6 years | ZQ stage
Fri 05 / Sun 07

CIRCUS WORKSHOPS
Explore different circus disciplines!
During the festival, we invite you to try out circus for yourself. Get a taste of different disciplines such as juggling, balance or aerial arts and train together with others in open training. Experienced trainers will help you discover new things and find your own circus style or improve your skills. There are courses for children, teenagers and adults - and for everyone together.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.